Bon Appétit

This is quick, easy and delicious - the perfect addition to a holiday buffet.

Cake-making equipment and ingredients can be found at cake and candy supply stores. Be sure to use cake flour, not all purpose flour, and begin preparing the cake two days ahead. Buy one 1-ounce bottle of gel base color in the shade called Bakers Rose to tint both the frosting and the fondant a pale pink. Plastic drinking straws are used to support the middle and top tiers. Buy the straight—not bendable—kind.

Here, the classic cranberry sauce becomes a salsa. The traditional ingredients — cranberries and orange — are enhanced with decidedly untraditional ones, such as a poblano chili and cilantro.

Peanut butter cookies are an all-American classic, and the inclusion of honey, oats and chocolate chunks in this recipe makes for a terrific interpretation.

A great-tasting hash that gets its kick from the combination of Maytag blue cheese, spicy sausage, red bell pepper and beets.

Teamed with meats of all kinds in Moroccan cooking, dried fruits and honey impart flavor and sweetness to the sauce in this rich stew. Serve it with a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Festive and pretty, this do-ahead dessert is a boon for busy hosts.

Steamed green beans and a rice or pasta salad from the deli go nicely with this entrée inspired by the Pacific Northwest. End with a simple but sophisticated dessert of coffee ice cream drizzled with brandy and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

You won't want to miss a bit of the wonderfully aromatic sauce, so serve either the Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes or plenty of French bread to catch every drop. Round out the menu with buttered carrots, a spinach and toasted walnut salad with walnut oil vinaigrette, and mocha layer cake for dessert.

For the crispiest cookies, slice the dough no thicker than a half inch. The biscotti keep well and look great wrapped in tinted cellophane tied with a silk ribbon or raffia, or packed into pretty holiday bags.

Food writer Janet Fletcher says, "During my childhood, the only salad on the Thanksgiving buffet was an old-fashioned Waldorf with chopped apples, celery, walnuts and mayonnaise. Frankly, I don’t miss it. This contemporary salad has the walnuts and the crunch, but is much fresher and far more inviting."

Low-fat buttermilk and nonfat yogurt provide the base in a refreshing, tangy soup.

Offer white rice alongside this simple, reduced-fat version of one of Rupa's childhood favorites.